Conventional swimming pools require the provision of an overflow system with a reservoir known as a surge tank for recirculation of water from the pool. The recirculated water is filtered and optionally cooled or heated to adjust the conditions in the main body of water in the swimming pool.
Coping systems are known for conveying of water including both the recycled water and water which comes from bathers when they leave the pool.
Hereafter, when I refer to a "coping system" this will be intended to refer to the construction which receives overflow water from the swimming pool for recycle back to the main body of water in the swimming pool, whereas a "deck system" refers to a system specifically intended not only for recirculating overflow water, but also, to capture water from bathers for separate collection and provide a required pool deck. The deck system will generally have a greater width, that is, will extend a greater distance beyond the swimming pool than the coping system.
Numerous systems are known in the art for collection of overflow water for recirculation back to the pool. In conjunction with a surge tank, these systems involve complex construction which require piping connections, substantial excavation of the surge tank or construction of a surge trench in immediate proximity to the perimeteral walls of the pool. A common foundation is generally employed for the coping section and the perimeteral wall of the pool. This requires the use of large monolithic structure of concrete for the perimeteral wall, the surge tank and for covering platforms.
In a conventional swimming pool coping construction (Costello U.S. Pat. No. 3,585,656) there is disclosed a coping extending outwardly from the perimetral wall of the pool which has a deck surface formed with apertures for supply of collected water to a surge trench therebelow. This construction has the disadvantage of requiring a relatively massive construction and the direct discharge of overflow water into the surge trench leads to a great deal of noise. Moreover, the direct presence of the surge trench beneath the apertures can be disquieting to people using the pool.